The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) kicked off the year with the launch of the XPoSat satellite on New Year’s Day with its PSLV rocket. Following that success, the agency announced that 2024 will be a year of “Gaganyaan readiness."
Gaganyaan, ISRO’s ambitious manned mission, is scheduled for 2025.
A series of tests for Gaganyaan mission are lined up for 2024, ISRO chairman S Somanath announced.
“We are going to get ready for at least 12-14 missions this year. 2024 is going to be a year for Gaganyaan readiness, though it is targeted for 2025,” Somanath said.
“The Gaganyaan mission began with the TV-D1 or the abort mission [successfully conducted in October 2023]. We have four such missions in the series. Our target is to do at least two more in 2024. By then, we will have three abort mission demonstrations,” Somanath added.
Somanath, who is also a Secretary in the Department of Space, said that the unmanned missions would help the ISRO understand the readiness of various systems, adding that the agency would also conduct helicopter-based drop tests to prove the parachute systems for the unmanned mission.
“There will be multiple drop tests. Also, we will have the launch pad abort and hundreds of such valuation tests including environmental control support system tests, the crew module related tests and simulation tests,” he said.